Ice I without stacking disorder by evacuating hydrogen from hydrogen hydrate

Komatsu, Kazuki*; Machida, Shinichi*; Noritake, Fumiya*; Hattori, Takanori; Sano, Asami; Yamane, Ryo*; Yamashita, Keishiro*; Kagi, Hiroyuki*

Nature Communications (Internet), 11, p.464_1 - 464_5, 2020/02

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14346-5

Water freezes below 0C at ambient pressure ordinarily to ice I, with hexagonal stacking sequence. Under certain conditions, ice with a cubic stacking sequence can also be formed, but ideal ice I without stacking-disorder has never been formed until recently. Here we demonstrate a route to obtain ice I without stacking-disorder by degassing hydrogen from the high-pressure form of hydrogen hydrate, C, which has a host framework isostructural with ice I. The stacking-disorder free ice I is formed from C via an intermediate amorphous or nano-crystalline form under decompression, unlike the direct transformations occurring in ice XVI from neon hydrate, or ice XVII from hydrogen hydrate. The obtained ice I shows remarkable thermal stability, until the phase transition to ice I at 250 K, originating from the lack of dislocations. This discovery of ideal ice I will promote understanding of the role of stacking-disorder on the physical properties of ice as a counter end-member of ice I.